Author
Topic: my review of the Chumash gig (Read 4484 times)

The only reason I'm writing this critique is because there's a chance it will help improve the show I just saw and other Foreigner fans like myself will benefit.

I liked the following:

The lead singer is amazing. He leaves it all on stage. That man (Kelly Hansen) is the star of that band and should be showcased as such. Hansen does all of Foreigner's songs right and I really respect his abilities. Hansen was worth the ticket price alone.

The first 30 minutes was very good.

On some of the songs the tempo was kept nice and slow which gave me the chance to savor the powerful guitar chords and soulful grit.

The piano player! Excellent. Congrats on your marriage.

Nice and loud. Powerful mix. Strong sound.

I didn't like the following:

Say You Will acapella. How about the first half of the song acapella and then blow us away with some electricity. Not bad, but, Say You Will was the song that introduced me to Foreigner and I dearly wanted to hear it played with instruments.

The Led Zepplin song in the middle of Juke Box Hero. That was the second lowest point of the concert for me. Which brings me to my lowest point.

Thom Gimbel's Urgent Sax solo was not good. Thom bit off more than he could chew bringing out a tenor sax for the song. Thom didn't have a fighting chance of pushing enough air through that huge sax during that infamous solo. I understand Thom is a big guy that probably wants to look cool with a sax that looks like it fits him. But honestly, his sax solo tonight was unequivicly the low point of the concert and I was expecting it to be the high point. Very disappointing.

Tons of respect to Mick Jones for keeping the band on tour and giving people a chance to hear some of rock and roll's biggest hits heard live. During tonight's performance I found myself getting lost during, what I felt was, meandering and directionless improvisations. I was expecting the songs to be tighter and more precise.

Overall, I was mostly disappointed with the performance tonight because it is obvious this band has the tools to deliver a tight show and I left the show knowing they could do better.

You are right in that The Band CAN Deliver. I urge you to try another show. I gave it another look and now I don't miss a chance to see them whenever they are near. It's hard to please EVERYone, some people Love SYW as you saw, but I get what you're saying. And Urgent, I've never seen an off night from Mr. Gimbel, we'll let him have this one, this one time.:tongue:

I have seen this present lineup twice this year and have never seen them perform better. I love that they perform Say You Will and adding Whole Lotta Love to Juke Box Hero. It makes the performance interesting and shows their musical talents. If you want to hear the song like they are on the albums, go listen to the albums. A live performance should be different. As far as Thom is concerned, I have never heard him blow a bad note. He plays the saxaphone better than anyone I have ever seen. That is my biased opinion.

Say U will should remain the same. It's incredible and it's the now. Get over it you whiner. As for a whole lotta love in the jukebox...it rocks!!! I LOVE it. The crowd gets so excited when the tune turns to it. As for the sax. A new mic and reed problem. What evvah! As for the size of it...he carries it just the way I like it! The sax that is ;>

I don't need a played out Zep tune thrown into the middle of JBH or anything of the like to make the performance interesting or show musical talent. Simply playing their songs should be enough.

I agree a live performance should be different. However, there's a difference between different and better. And when I hear Cold as Ice and Hot Blooded at the beginning and end of the concert respectivley sound better than any studio recording I've ever heard, I don't feel out of line expecting the entire set to be that good.

Were you at the Chumash on the sucky sax night in question? If you were, and you had a pair of functional ears, you would agree Thom's sax solo was awful. Go see Dave Koz in December at the Chumash and you'll be ruined for any other sax player for the rest of your life.

Okay, fine. Say You Will acapella isn't bad. A large part of the appeal of Foreigner for me is the guitar and Say You Will has a lot of good electric guitar parts. It was like when I went and saw Heart a few years ago and they did the same thing with Alone. It's okay, but, it felt like that Eddie Murphy joke..."that's not mcdonalds"

And BTW...I'll "get over it" when I'm good and ready.

Thom's choice to use a tenor sax for that solo was pure suicide. The bigger the sax, the more air you have to push through to get a note. Thom couldn't keep up and Kelly thankfully stopped his solo before it got any worse.

Thanks for taking the time to offer a thoughtful critique. Regrets for not getting everything you went for. Not having attended the show in question, and just so we are comparing apples to apples here, am curious to see if you happen to own the Foreigner CD's "Live in '05" and/or "Extended Versions" or if you have seen/heard/own the Foreigner Bang Your Head Festival DVD. From the concerts I have witnessed since 2005 (4) I would maintain that the sax solos on the shows mentioned above are the norm for what Thom Gimbel typically delivers. Perhaps you could give any of those a listen to see if what you heard live and in person was comparable or if something was noticeably different. Just a thought.

Contra Bass (extremely rare, huge, found in museums, played while standing on a step ladder or chair)Bass Sax (Also an extremely large instrument)Baritone (a very large instrument) Tenor (used by Junior Walker on Urgent)C Melody (Rare size between alto and tenor)Alto (used by David Sanborn)Soprano (usually a straight sax, no curve)Sopranino (also usually a straight, small sax)